On the first day of summer, with the sun shining, leaders and staff from across VCH celebrated this year’s recipients of the People First Awards. The afternoon ceremony on Wednesday, June 21, was a chance to recognize the inspiring work of staff and teams over the past year.

Check out the highlights from the celebration:

• Watch a video of highlights from the awards ceremony
• Browse through the event photos in the gallery
• Award of Excellence winners were surprised with tribute videos capturing their co-workers’ good wishes. Watch the videos below!
• Share your own kudos and congratulations in the comments section at the bottom!

Watch the ceremony highlights

Photo gallery of the ceremony

President & CEO, Mary Ackenhusen presented each winning individual and team with their award. Click on the photos below to see them in full size, with captions.

The Unsung Hero award winners

This award is for an individual who has consistently gone above and beyond without fanfare to the benefit of the organization and the people around them, whether they are patients or fellow staff members.

Award of Excellence

• Brent Fitzsimmons, Needle Exchange & Harm Reduction Program Coordinator, Public Health for Gibsons, Sechelt & Pender Harbour

Awards of Merit

• Nova Cleghorn, Nurse Educator, Medical, Surgical & Pediatrics, Powell River General Hospital
• Sophia Goksoyr, Social Worker, Intensive Care Unit, Vancouver General Hospital
• Dr. Raymond Au, Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Emergency Unit, Richmond Hospital

Patient-Centred Care award winners

This award is for an individual who goes above and beyond to support their patients, clients or residents in the delivery of high quality care and services while upholding professional standards.

Award of Excellence

• Lynn Ottoson, Registered Psychiatric Nurse, Inpatient Psychiatry, Richmond Hospital

Awards of Merit

• Jill Scott, Thrombosis Clinic Nurse, Hematology –Thrombosis Clinic, Vancouver General Hospital
• Christopher Dickinson, Outreach Worker, Medical Mobile Unit, Vancouver
• Maureen (Mo) Gaffney, Registered Nurse, Primary Care Clinic, Downtown Community Health Centre, Vancouver Community

Teamwork & Collaboration award winners

This award is for a team that has come together to problem-solve, break down boundaries and/or create new relationships, finding sustainable solutions to health care challenges.

Award of Excellence

• Mobile Medical Unit Deployment Team, Vancouver Acute & Vancouver Community:
  Lori Korchinski, Afshan Nathoo, Miranda Compton, Dr. Eric Grafstein, Michelle de Moor, Dr. Keith Ahamad, Dr. Annabel Mead, Caitlin Etherington, Dr. Stan de Vlaming, Tim Chu, Ross Maguire, Marsha Simons, Joe Acker, Peter Hennecke, Krista Golden, Nathanial Lim

Awards of Merit

• Downtown Eastside Connections Project Team, Vancouver Community:
  Dr. Dan Pare, Monika Stein, Neil Braun, Keith McDonald, Jeff West, Jacey Larochelle, Dr. Ron Joe, Ben Fair, Andrew MacFarlane

• Chest Pain Working Group, Emergency, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver Acute:
  Lori Korchinski, Jaime Gallagher, Susan Harrison Salt, Sarah Turner, Lori Quinn, Cassie Wright, Sean Freeze, Bruce Hartnett, Dr. Heather Lindsay, Dr. Tong Lam, Dr. Chad Kim Sing, Erin Collins, Liz Crane, Darlene Davelaar, Christine Davie, Carole Dion, Michelle Dodds, Suzanne Fayle, Tracy Johnson, Tony Kumar, Gertrude Lee, Scott Maher, Penny Merletti, Trang Nguyen, Simona Pavlikova, Suzanne Pell, Evangeline Portillo, Jean Power, Gosha Roman, Sinead Ryan, Joanne Scott, Heather Sengara, Alexia Simeoni, Lindsey Bott, Angela Tait, Lindsay Tarasoff, John Tino, Veronica Tsang, Cindy Vanderbyl, Tracy Visser, Adrienne Zawyrucha, Carole Stevens, The Heart Services Cardiology Technologist team
• VGH Perfusionists, Vancouver Acute:
  Amandeep Sidhu, David Nash, Filippo Berna, Bernie Hanasyk, Jaime Drake, Matt Fieldwalker, Eleanor Sese, Rob Chalus, Doug Israel, Kim Long (KL) Ta, Patrick Lavassani, Edwin Proniuk

Innovation award winners

This award is for an individual who uses their courage and creativity to bring forward innovative solutions that challenge the status quo, improve quality and move us toward a more sustainable health care system.

Award of Excellence

• Dr. Kendall Ho, Emergency Physician, Vancouver General Hospital & TEC4Home Lead

Awards of Merit

• Christine Korol, Psychologist, Outpatient Psychiatry, Vancouver General Hospital
• Michelle Hecht, Registered Nurse, Emergency Department, Lions Gate Hospital
• Anna Richley, Manager, Mental Health & Substance Use Supported Housing, Vancouver Community

Leadership award winners

This award is for a respected, compassionate leader who inspires their peers and team with their thirst for excellence.

Award of Excellence

• Dale Handley, Head Nurse, Carlile Youth Concurrent Disorders Centre, HOpe Centre

Awards of Merit

• Dr. Faisal Khosa, Assistant Professor, Trauma Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital
• Dr. Michael Wilkins-Ho, Medical Manager, Tertiary Older Adult Assessment & Treatment Unit, Willow Pavilion, Vancouver General Hospital & Head, UBC Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
• Shelly Fleck, Operations Director, Operating Room Booking, Slating & Waitlist Management & Strategic Initiatives, Vancouver General Hospital

Volunteering award winners

This award is for an individual or group who has volunteered their time to improve the health care system for their community.

Award of Excellence

• Pender Women’s Clinic Volunteer Team, Vancouver Community:
  Laura Gair, Amanda Feng, Polly Ng

Award of Merit

• Josephine Macdonald, Volunteer, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver Acute
• Chian-Li Hsu, Volunteer, Palliative Care Unit, Vancouver Acute

Get to know the winners

VCH News has been interviewing the People First award winners in our People in Profile section. Meet some of your inspiring coworkers and watch for more profiles to come!